Design Methods for Everyone

I have always enjoyed discussing Design Methods and frequently use Damien Newman’s Squiggle as a means to visually describe the Design or Design Thinking process.

But how do you describe the feeling when you are knee deep in the process? How do you sort yourself out when you are struggling with a concept? This quote I stumbled upon does the job perfectly:

Confusion, chaos, and sudden despair, are to be expected in designing. They are signs that your intuitions are becoming active and well informed – but are being frustrated by your persistence in sticking to the thoughts with which you began.
The right step is to stop designing for a time and to re-plan the design process.
Persist in re-planning until you have described a new process that brings back your enthusiasm to continue.

It looks like what you feel as the way forward is now being held back by what you know. Logic fights with intuition.
This quote and a bunch of other gems can be found in an essay called Design Methods for Everyone by John Chris Jones. It is a great read on how to plan, approach and do design. Perfect for the beginner and refreshing for the expert.
Enjoy and don’t forget to save the essay for a future read!